According to the largest review of the facts to date, highly processed foods, such as cereals and sodas, have been linked to 32 harmful health effects, Science Alert reported.
Globally, it is estimated that one in every 5 deaths is due to poor nutrition, and the role of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has attracted much attention in many studies in recent years.
They were first defined about 15 years ago so that researchers could study the impact of food processing on health. This new study called the "impact review", analyzed many recent studies involving almost 10 million people to bring together much of the available data and give a comprehensive picture of the impact of UPH on our health.
The results suggest that consuming large amounts of UPA in food leads to poor health and early death from a range of diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and poor mental health.
Diets containing high proportions of UPA are undoubtedly bad for your health, and new research confirms links to a wide range of diseases. However, questions remain about the specific mechanisms by which these foods make us sick.
Over the years, researchers have proposed several mechanisms. Among them is poor food quality, as some such foods can be high in fat, sugar, and salt, low in fiber, and deficient in essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Other mechanisms include a lack of structure and texture, which makes eating faster, raises blood sugar levels, and is less effective at reducing appetite. Much attention is also paid to food additives and other chemicals that are added to food or become contaminated by packaging or the environment.
The quality of the evidence varies
An interesting aspect of said research is the fact that the magnitude of the results varied across studies, and some of the correlations were weak. This is likely due in part to the wide range of foods included in the UPH category.
The definition identifies foods that may contain additives and chemicals and are heavily processed using refined and reconstituted ingredients that consumers may not be familiar with. This covers foods as diverse as ice cream, snacks, wholemeal bread, processed meats, and low-fat kinds of pasta. These very different foods, containing very different ingredients and nutrients, are likely to have very different effects on our health.
Another important factor to consider is that these studies cover a large number of people. The analysis takes into account various factors, such as age, gender, and lifestyle, which can skew the data.
However, the results can only show the relationship between dietary intake and health. They do not provide direct evidence for the mechanisms involved. We urgently need new research to understand how and why certain foods can cause ill health.
Although some direct studies are possible, the long-term health effects, for example, of consuming high levels of dietary supplements, could be difficult and ethically questionable. However, there is an opportunity to investigate these effects in more detail using existing data. As more studies are published, the amount of data should certainly allow us to focus on the different forms of UPH to determine the best and worst.
Given the vast amount of data in the overview, it would be interesting to extract some more precise data to help determine which foods to avoid.
The UPH category contains a vast array of foods with equally diverse nutrient content. Commercial whole wheat bread, as well as ice cream, donuts, and fried snacks, are classified as UPH. It is therefore highly likely that different UPHs have a wide range of health effects.
In addition, mechanistic studies in which humans are given certain foods or ingredients in a controlled manner, as well as more detailed statistical analysis of existing studies, should help us determine which UPHs to avoid, which are safe, and which may even be useful as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
One thing is for sure - these studies should help inform advice on limiting the consumption of UPFs, which are harmful to health. On the other hand, we should strive to determine which aspects of these foods are the most dangerous so that food manufacturers can eliminate them from our diet, as has been achieved with harmful ingredients such as trans fats and some artificial colors.
Many people rely heavily on commercial, processed foods, and we must ensure that these foods are safe and nutritious in the future, especially for poor and vulnerable groups./BGNES
